In the art of barrier operator systems, such as upward acting garage door operators and gate operators, there has been a continuing need to improve the operating characteristics of such systems with respect to control and interaction between the operator system and persons using the facility at which the operator system is installed.
For example, in commercial and residential motor operated garage doors and the like, the operator control systems rely on human interaction to effect opening and closing of the door. However, in residential garage door installations, in particular, it is not unusual for persons using the garage door to forget whether or not the door is closed. Certainly, if a person opens the garage door and then drives away in their vehicle without closing the door, the security of the premises at which the door is installed has been compromised. The same is true for the situation wherein a person has returned to the garage, opened the door, driven their vehicle into the garage and then failed to close the door.
The aforementioned circumstances are just two of many event situations or states at which the failure of proper human interaction with the door operator system produces an unwanted result. Accordingly, there has been a need to develop an automatic garage door or other barrier operator system which overcomes problems associated with inadvertent failure to close or open a door, when needed, and provides the convenience of automating the operation of the door or a similar barrier. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.